Directorate of Chemical Demilitarization

Programs/ Projects
Aberdeen, Anniston, Newport, Pine Bluff, Umatilla
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Completed Projects Incineration Technology Program  Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (JACADS) The Prototype plant for destruction of chemical weapons utilizing incineration technology was the Johnston Atoll Chemical Disposal Facility.  A major milestone in the chemical weapons program was achieved in 2000 when the plant completed the safe destruction of chemical weapons material stored on the Atoll.  Plant closure activities are complete. BACK TO TOP

Tooele Chemical Disposal Facility (TOCDF) The Tooele Chemical Disposal Facility was the first chemical weapons destruction facility built in the Continental United States.  The facility is design and constructed to withstand earthquake forces and has a ventilation system that provides air pressures within the plant to assure vapor containment.  All air and gases that leave the plant pass through the pollution abatement system and carbon filters.  The munitions are loaded into the system by hand onto conveyors which carry them into the Munitions Demilitarization Building (MDB) where robotics separate the explosives and withdraws the agent which is destroyed in the liquid incineration.  Explosives are destroyed in the deactivation furnace.   The systems contract was awarded 6 September 1989.  The plant is now in operations and has destroyed approximately 47% of the chemical agent stockpile of chemical weapons stored at the site.   BACK TO TOP

Anniston Chemical Disposal Facility (ANCDF) The Systems Contract was awarded to Westinghouse Electric Corp., on 29 February 1996.  The chosen technology for the ANCDF is reverse disassembly followed by incineration. The plant is designed and constructed to withstand earthquake forces and has a ventilation system that provides negative air pressures within the plant to assure vapor containment.  All vapors and gases that leave the plant pass through the pollution abatement system and carbon filters.  The munitions are loaded into the process by hand onto conveyors which carry them into the Munitions Demil Building where robotics separate the explosives and withdraw the agent which is destroyed in the liquid incinerator.  Explosives are destroyed in the deactivation furnace and projectiles are decontaminated in the metal parts furnace.  Construction was completed in June 2001.  The plant is currently in operations. BACK TO TOP

Umatilla Chemical Disposal Facility This plant designed and constructed based on the incineration technology proven at the Johnston Atoll plant is designed and constructed to withstand earthquake forces and has a ventilation system that provides negative air pressures within the plant to assure vapor containment.  All vapors and gases that leave the plant pass through the pollution abatement system and carbon filters. The munitions are loaded into the process by hand onto conveyors which carry them into the Munitions Demil Building where robotics separate the explosives and withdraw the agent which is destroyed in the liquid incinerator.  Explosives are destroyed in the deactivation furnace and projectiles are decontaminated in the metal parts furnace.  The plant is currently in the Systemization stage and operations are scheduled  to begin in the near future. BACK TO TOP

Pine Bluff Chemical Disposal Facility (PBCDF) The Pine Bluff facility is designed and constructed to withstand earthquake forces and has a ventilation system that provides negative air pressures within the plant to assure vapor containment.  All vapors and gases that leave the plant pass through the pollution abatement system and carbon filters.  The munitions are loaded into the process by hand onto conveyors which carry them into the Munitions Demil Building where robotics separate the explosives and withdraw the agent which is destroyed in the liquid incinerator.  Explosives are destroyed in the deactivation furnace and projectiles are decontaminated in the metal parts furnace.   The Systems Contract was awarded to Raytheon Demilitarization Company , now the Washington Group 25 July 1997.  Construction is complete.  The plant was designed and built utilizing incineration technology. The plant is currently in the Systemization stage. BACK TO TOP

ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND APPROACHES Aberdeen Chemical Disposal Facility (ABCDF) The Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility is a state-of-the-art facility designed to destroy the chemical agent stored at the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground. The chemical agent will be destroyed by using an accelerated neutralization process that regulators approved and the community endorsed. In October 1998, a contract was awarded to Bechtel National, Inc.  The Department of Defense subsequently approved a plan to accelerate destruction of the chemical agent after the events of 11 September 2001; agent destruction operations began in April 2003. Newport Chemical Disposal Facility (NECDF) The Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility is a state-of-the-art facility designed to destroy the chemical agent stored at Newport Chemical Depot. Facility construction was completed in June 2003.  Neutralization technology converts the agent into a less hazardous waste that will be treated with industrial chemicals. The remaining waste will be treated and disposed safely in accordance with regulatory requirements. In February 1999, a contract was awarded to Parsons Infrastructure.  An accelerated destruction plan was approved after the events of 11 September 2001 and construction of those facilities was completed in June 2003.  Agent operations are scheduled to begin in early 2004.   BACK TO TOP

Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (CTR) The Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program mission is to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related materials, technologies and expertise from former Soviet Union (FSU) states.  The program was originally sponsored by Senators Sam Nunn (D-GA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) as an amendment to the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty Implementation Act, and Congress formally established the CTR Program in December 1991 as the "Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act."  It was later renamed the "Cooperative Threat Reduction Program in 1993.  In 1995 the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Atomic Energy) requested the Army to designate a single office within the Department of the Army as the executive agent for the Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Support Program.  In 1996, the Product Manager for Cooperative Threat Reduction (PM CTR) was established.  As part of the Army's 1996 creation of PMCTR the Army teamed with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville Center who has design, planning and construction experience in the US Chemical Demilitarization Program.  HNC provides contract planning, management and on-site program management for construction planning and implementation.    BACK TO TOP    Chemical Agent Analytical Monitoring Laboratory The first project completed in the CTR program by the Huntsville Center was the Chemical Agent Analytical Monitoring Laboratory, in the State scientific Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology in Moscow, Russia.  The project consisted of the renovation of an existing facility.  All existing architectural, mechanical and electrical features were demolished to a bare shell and completely rebuilt.  The four story 4,425 square meter facility houses 27 Laboratories, 36 fume hoods and ancillery equipment.  The contract was awarded October 1996, and completed in January 2001.  Basic functions of the laboratory are to develop chemical agent analytical methods and procedures, provide on-the-job-training for Russian Personnel, serve as Quality Assurance/Quality Control center for Russian personnel and to conduct analyses of environmental samples.    BACK TO TOP

Current Programs/Projects Bluegrass, Pueblo, Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility (RCWDF)

Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives Program Bluegrass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant (BGAPP) The Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics signed the Acquisition Decision Memorandum for the technology selection for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) in February 2003.  The technology selected was neutralization followed by supercritical water oxidation, known as "SCOW".   The Systems Contract is a Performance-Based, Cost Reimbursable, Task Order, Design-Build contract.  The Systems Contractor will perform design, construction, systemization, operations, and closure of the facility.

Pueblo Chemical Agent  Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) Public Law 104-208 established the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment Program (ACWA) to study alternative technologies. The Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics signed the Acquisition Decision Memorandum for the technology selection for the Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP) on 16 July 2002.  The technology selected was neutralization (hydrolysis) followed by biotreatment.  A Systems Contract for the PCAPP was awarded 27 September 2002, to Bechtel National, Inc.  Bechtel is the Prime Contractor, heading a team of subcontractors that includes Parsons and The Washington Group.  The Systems Contract is a Performance-Based, Cost Reimbursable, Task Order, Design-Build contract.  The Systems Contractor will perform design, construction, systemization, operations, and closure of the facility.   BACK TO TOP

Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility (RCWDF) In December 1996, the Huntsville Center awarded a contract to manage, conduct research and development, design, and construct facilities to assist Russia in executing its chemical weapons destruction program.  Design of the RCWDF is expected to be completed by December 2004.  Construction is expected to be completed in late 2008.  Below is an artists rendering of the facility along with pictures that show various stages of construction and the climate conditions encountered during the winter months. BACK TO TOP

On-Going Support Missions Simulation Equipment Test Hardware The Chemical Materials Agency's Program Manager for Elimination of Chemical Weapons (PMECW) is responsible for the elimination of obsolete and aging chemical weapons in the U.S.  SETH and the chemical demilitarization equipment are integral parts of the elimination program.  SETH is used in place of actual chemical weapons to test, prove-out demilitarization equipment, and to bring demilitarization systems back into operation after repairs without the use of actual munitions.  SETH is also used to train demilitarization personnel and enhance the public's awareness of the CD program.  Huntsville Center provides PMECW and the Project Officer SETH life-cycle project management and contracting tools for the fabrication, inventory, storage, maintenance and shipping of SETH and special handling tools; and to provide munitions models for the Chemical Demilitarization program when required.   Chemical Agent Munitions Disposal System (CAMDS) The Chemical Materials Agency's office of Program Manager for Elimination of Chemical Weapons (PMECW) is responsible for the elimination of obsolete and aging chemical weapons in the U.S.  CAMDS has been operated since 1979 conducting research, development and demonstration of various methods of demilitarizing chemical munitions, and treating the waste resulting from demilitarization processes.  The facility operates as a Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility.  The current role at CAMDS is to complete the destruction of Lewisite and begin the disposal of secondary waste generated at Deseret Chemical Depot. (DCD)  The Huntsville Center provides DCD with a contracting tool for establishing prompt operation support services to support the CAMDS operation mission in Tooele, Utah. BACK TO TOP